Dan Adelman leaves Nintendo to work directly with indie developers

Dan Adelman, Nintendo's Head of Digital Content and Development, has announced he is leaving the company to "go full-blown indie."

Adelman spent nearly nine years with Nintendo, during which he founded Nintendo of America's digital distribution business. He oversaw the launch of hundreds of games and advised indie developers on game design, marketing campaigns, and general business strategy. He plans to continue that strategy, but with a more direct role on the ground across independent studios.

"Many indie teams recognize that the business-side is crucial to success but don’t have the resources to hire a full-time business or marketing expert. In his new endeavor, Adelman will take indie developers to the next level of success by working with them as a virtual team member to help them make informed business decisions and stand out from the rising tide of indies," a statement provided to us reads.

Prior to joining Nintendo in 2005, Adelman was part of the launch team for the original Xbox, handling multi-million third-party publisher development deals as well as strategy planning for Xbox LIVE. That included launching Xbox LIVE Arcade.